French GP: Renault Saturday qualifying notes

Fernando on pole and Fisico seventh - but sixth on the grid.
The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team took pole position for its home race in
Magny-Cours, for the second successive year, during qualifying for
tomorrow's French Grand Prix. A mistake-free...

Fernando on pole and Fisico seventh - but sixth on the grid.

The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team took pole position for its home race in
Magny-Cours, for the second successive year, during qualifying for
tomorrow's French Grand Prix. A mistake-free lap saw World Championship
leader Fernando Alonso take his sixth career pole position, giving him
the best possible starting point for extending his championship lead in
tomorrow's race.

Team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella was on equal terms with
the Spaniard until the final sector, where a small mistake cost him three
tenths of a second. However, on a grid as tightly packed as that at
Magny-Cours, where a mere tenth of a second can cost a number of
positions, he finished seventh. However, he will start sixth for
tomorrow's race after Raikkonen has served his ten place penalty for an
engine change on Friday.

Fernando Alonso, Pole position:

"I am delighted to be on pole, for the second time at this circuit, which
I love. Even more, I am very pleased do it here in France for the team
and all our supporters. The car has felt really good all weekend, after
our work in testing last week in Jerez, and the balance was very stable
on my lap, so I could attack all the way without any mistakes."

"Looking to
tomorrow, I know that we have a good chance to improve the situation in
the championship as Kimi will be starting quite far back, so I will be
trying to score as many points as possible -- but I also expect
Ferrari, Toyota and McLaren to be very fast. This weekend, there are
6,000 people here from all over Renault, so it will be an important race.
I hope we can deliver a good performance!"

Giancarlo Fisichella, 7th position:

"Obviously, I am a little bit disappointed with my position. The first
and second sectors were quite good for me, but then I lost three or four
tenths in the last corners, which put me further down the grid. Even so,
I know we have a very strong car for the race tomorrow, so I am still
feeling confident."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering:

"The grid this afternoon is very close, much as we had expected -- and
we saw with Giancarlo how a small mistake can prove costly on a single
timed lap. We have both cars in the top six for tomorrow, and they were
well balanced on the qualifying laps."

"We expect temperatures tomorrow to
be much higher, but the cars are looking after their tyres well, and we
do not anticipate this will be a factor during the race. All in all, this
gives us a very satisfying starting point for the race."

Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Operations:

"It is traditional for the qualifying session at Magny-Cours to prove
particularly close-fought, and this was the case once again this
afternoon. With this in mind, it is pleasing to be on the front row
without having sacrificed any part of our race strategy in favour of
qualifying performance."

"We completed our normal set-up and tuning work
this morning in spite of the poor conditions, and results are visible in
the performance this afternoon. We know that the car has very strong
potential for the race, and with one driver ideally placed, and the other
a threatening challenger on the third row, we are optimistic for the
Grand Prix."